AMAWaterways Prague to Budapest 6/8-6/19 Live

[Little Help]

Several friends and I have just booked the 11/24-12/2 cruise on AmaLyra--ending in Budapest...right now, I'm not going into Prague early, but in continuing to read various posts, may reconsider!

 

 

Thank you so much for the daily recap and answering everyone's questions. It's really helping me to get a better picture of what to expect.

 

Looking forward to your next update!:)

[MVPinBoynton]

Several friends and I have just booked the 11/24-12/2 cruise on AmaLyra--ending in Budapest...right now, I'm not going into Prague early, but in continuing to read various posts, may reconsider!

 

 

Thank you so much for the daily recap and answering everyone's questions. It's really helping me to get a better picture of what to expect.

 

Looking forward to your next update!:)

 

We had three nights in Prague, which was good; but we would have liked to have had more. You will regret not spending enough time in that wonderful city.

[RachelG]

Agree with above that if you have sufficient vacation time, Prague is not to be missed. Need at least two days there, if not three.

 

Vienna is huge. So we just scratched the surface. It is quite a way from where the boats dock to downtown. We did a mornings walking tour that had a proper fast group as well as regular and slow. Fast wasn't super fast, but we definitely covered more ground and got to see more. St stephen's cathedral is beautiful, with colored glass instead of stained which gives different colored shafts of light through the building. Yesterday was cool, windy, and cloudy, looking like rain at any minute, and the light was still beautiful. On a sunny day, it would be even better.

 

Then we had 3 hr free time in the city if we were in the group going to schoenbrunn palace. They did this so that we would not have to waste time traveling back and forth, and I really appreciated it. Of course, if you wanted to go back to the ship, you could.

 

Did a lot of walking and shopping ( just looking really as I did not buy anything) then had lunch at cafe Mozart which is pretty famous. It was good, if a little pricey.

 

Afternoon at schoenbrunn palace was a highlight of the trip for me. Actually, I wish this had been offered as a morning tour as I could have spent all day here. Magnificent rooms sort of like in Versailles, acres and acres of gardens, fountains, a zoo, a maze. Well, we barely had time to scratch the surface. It is definitely a place to return to.

 

Last evening was the farewell dinner. Started with sparkling wine in the lounge, then a good dinner with filet and shrimp. I have really been positively impressed with the food on this cruise. All high quality and well prepared. The head chef is German, and the pastry chef (female) has the most cute and bubbly personality and clearly loves what she does. Food is every bit as good as regent, just fewer choices and no lobster or caviar.

[OrpingtonT]

Thank you, Rachel, for sparing the time to post daily reports of your river cruise. They were most interesting, especially because the ports were so different from the usual cruise ports. I had been to some of the places, usually by car, so your perspective brought back some memories.

 

Safe journey home now you have added river cruising to your impressive list of travel experiences.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

Thank you SO much for posting, Rachel!!!

 

This sounds delightful; right up my alley, and the price sure is right too!!!

[Grandma of Lily]

Thank you so much for your detailed information, Rachel. We are doing the same route (but in reverse) at the end of August so I have been cutting and pasting info from you to take with us. It has been extremely helpful, especially as we are first-timers. Thank you again.

[Island Cruiser]

Rachel, I want to add my word of thanks too. We've savored every post as we will be doing your itinerary as half of our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in October, 2012 on Tauck.

We plan to start in Prague on that trip and then take the train (7 hours) to Budapest. Quick question: I like the idea of the "fast" tour group in order to see more but I take mostly video while my partner freddie takes still shots and am worried that the "fast" group will be so fast I won't have time to get good video. Should I be worried? Pat

[RachelG]

First thanks for all the kind words.

 

As far as the fast walking group being too fast to take pictures, that shouldn't be a problem. My friend who traveled with us loves to take lots of pictures, and while sometimes she was at the end of the group so she could get a good shot, the guide still stops and talks at places of interest, so she was able to catch up.

 

Today we had our am tour of Budapest. No fast or slow groups today as most of the tour was by bus, but we got out at 3 places. First up to the Mathias church and fisherman's bastion on the Buda side. Very nice area and great views. Seems a lot more relaxed than the Pest side. We will be staying at the Hilton here for 1 night post cruise.

 

Our guide was somewhat disorganized today. "Forgot" that we were actually supposed to go up on the fisherman's bastion, which costs extra money. Kriss had to remind her, then she made a bunch of excuses, but we got to go up.

 

Back on the bus for the drive to the Pest side and to heroes square. This is a great way to get oriented to the city. The maps they gave out on board are big and very helpful, so you can see where you are going on the map and where you want to come back to.

 

Heroes square is just a big square with statues, so we only stayed there a few minutes, but it is a good orientation point.

 

Then we drove to the big marketplace which was really interesting. Food downstairs, crafts upstairs. I didn't buy anything, but I think this pace would be one where you could find some really good handmade stuff (as well as some fakes from China). So you would need to pay attention. Bargaining is acceptable in the crafts part.

 

Ate Hungarian lunch on the ship then walked all over, across the chain bridge, down andrassy ave to the opera house. The boat also provides an hourly free ferry across if you don't want to walk that much. Did the opera house tour. It was fine but probably overpriced. Then got caught in the gay pride parade. There was riptpolice everywhere- several hundred. Anyway, we hightailed it back to the ship.

 

After dinner had a cruise tour around the city which was all lit up, beautiful.

[alexandra cruiser]

home next day,,not spend extra day in Budapest,,,unless this tour above is really basic???will it give us an overview,,,then plan to take another in few yrs..from Budapest on...know extra day nice,,but absolutely essential,,,is the question,,would hav e to change vacations days,etc..thanks/////have loved your posts and very helpful...:)

[CAPinBoynton]

Thank you so much for your detailed information' date=' Rachel. We are doing the same route (but in reverse) at the end of August so I have been cutting and pasting info from you to take with us. It has been extremely helpful, especially as we are first-timers. Thank you again.[/quote']

 

I would also like to thank Rachel. You brought back many great memories.

 

Lily'sgrandma, if you would like to see lots of pictures and read more about what you will see, go to www.thepreismans.com.

[aboutThat]

I also want to thank Rachel for the travelogue. I've been following it faithfully and saving your posts so I can print them out and take them to my not-so-internet-savvy mom. :)

 

Question - Are you doing the "Legendary Danube" itinerary? We're going to do the "Blue Danube" initerary at the end of August, which includes a visit to Slovakia between Vienna and Budapest. Since you haven't mentioned it, I figured you're not taking exactly the same itinerary but really close.

 

By the way, to Carol & Mike, I've been to your amazing website many times and wanted to thank you for putting it together. It's a great reference for us. The pictures are stunning and I love that you included the menus as well. My mom is a vegetarian so she was relieved to find out there will be something every night that she can eat other than salad. ;)

[MVPinBoynton]

I also want to thank Rachel for the travelogue. I've been following it faithfully and saving your posts so I can print them out and take them to my not-so-internet-savvy mom. :)

 

Question - Are you doing the "Legendary Danube" itinerary? We're going to do the "Blue Danube" initerary at the end of August, which includes a visit to Slovakia between Vienna and Budapest. Since you haven't mentioned it, I figured you're not taking exactly the same itinerary but really close.

 

By the way, to Carol & Mike, I've been to your amazing website many times and wanted to thank you for putting it together. It's a great reference for us. The pictures are stunning and I love that you included the menus as well. My mom is a vegetarian so she was relieved to find out there will be something every night that she can eat other than salad. ;)

 

Glad the menus helped. I can assure you, your mom will not go hungry and I remember that the vegetarian items looked quite appetizing.

[LHT28]

Thanks for the review Rachel

Looking forward to our cruise next year

 

Lyn

[RachelG]

First of all, Alexandra cruiser, to answer your question. I think that if you only had one day in Budapest, the thing to do would be to do the ship tour in the am, then in the afternoon, head back up the Buda side and do what we did with our day today, which I will detail in a second. Buda is SO much prettier than Pest (except for Andrassy Ave which is wonderful).

 

Also want to thank Mike and Carol for their travelog which inspired me.

 

As far as Slovakia, no we did not stop there. We were indeed on the Legendary Danube itinerary, but I would have loved to have visited there as well.

 

Anyway, this am, we had to be out of the room by 9. They will actually let you stay on the ship for many hours afterward, but you have to be out of the room. Kriss had ordered us up a taxi for 9 am. It was right there, and the staff carries out your luggage for you. You are not allowed to touch it!

 

20 euro fare to the Hilton on the Buda side. We shared with another couple which Kriss arranged, so it was only 10 euro for us.

 

Hilton is very nice, constructed into the ancient Roman ruins and right beside Mathius church. We checked in then went walking. Our goal was the underground WWII hospital, which I highly recommend. It is a little tricky to find (there are good directions in Rick Steve's book). Fascinating tour through the whole thing. Tour is in English and takes 1 hr. Then had lunch at a little cafe. We then went into the Mathius church (closed earlier for Sunday services). It is totally different than any of the churches we had visited as it is done in Hungarian Art Nouveau. Really cool looking.

 

Then we went to the Wine Museum and Tasting rooms. Museum isn't much, but the tasting was very good, esp since I am really not familiar with Hungarian wines. The guy there was very helpful, had spent a year in California doing an internship at a winery.

 

Walked all over the top of the hill, then to Tabani Teraz for dinner. Inexpensive and delicious.

 

Room at Hilton is outstanding, highly rec. Tomorrow we fly out early then back to work.

[MVPinBoynton]

Rachel,

I am so glad that our review was able to help you in your planning. We have been enjoying reliving our trip through your posts. I have also picked up tips from you for our future visits to these lovely places.

[ilovetexas]

Rachel,

Thank you for the wonderful review during your trip. I am dying to go on a Christmas market river cruise. I'm going to take over your thread for a moment; I hope that is okay.

 

For those of you considering Prague, go! I went on a European trip several years ago and would gladly have given up the time in Brussels and Madrid to stay the full two weeks in Prague. Go in December, if possible. Yes, it's cold but bundle up. It is beautiful in the winter and there aren't many tourists. Plus, the Christmas markets are set up and we were there for Mikulas Day which was a treat.

 

If you can stay in Hradcany (the Castle District), I recommend it. The Savoy was great. Absolutely go to Terezin, it was heartbreaking but something I will never forget. Try to eat in one of the restored cellars in the castle district, it's a fabulous experience. Spend some time in Kampa Park (right next to the Charles Bridge), it's lovely and there are some surprisingly good restaurants there. Skip downtown, you can see that anywhere. Take in an opera, we saw one performed in German with Czech "subtitles" which didn't help at all. ;) Tour all of the churches, not just St. Vitas Cathedral (although that one is breathtaking).

 

I could go on for days but won't bore you. Suffice to say, if you enjoy history and sightseeing and are not mobility impaired (lots of uneven surfaces, cobblestone streets, and stairs), you can enjoy yourself in Prague for an extended time.

[aussietraveller58]

HI Cinders 87

[aussietraveller58]

Tallship I am helping my elderly grandparents on a European river cruise in about 9 days time. We are going with APT who uses AMA waterways boats. Grandma uses a walker and cannot walk for long periods of time. I will let you know how we go with the excursions etc.

 

 

HI Cinders 87 - I would love to hear how your grandparents go - especially on the shore excursions. Coud you let me know if you see many people with travelling wheelchairs? And what options were there if a shore excursion had too much walking for your grandparents? You must be getting very excited now- so close!

[floridababs]

Your review was really great. We are going on the Budapest to Prague river cruise on AMA in a few weeks and we are wondering how people were dressed for dinner. Jackets for men? How about the women?

[Peacemkr59]

floridababs...what ship and what date are you going?

[floridababs]

We are going on the Amadolce July 4th and staying in Prague 3 nights after cruise from Budapest.

[Peacemkr59]

Enjoy your cruise..we will be arriving in Prague only a few days after you leave, we'll be on the Amalyra July 24 with 3 days in Prague before our cruise!

[AdvenLee]

We are going on the Amadolce July 4th and staying in Prague 3 nights after cruise from Budapest.

 

I hope that you will write a review, since I am very interested in doing an AMA cruise on the Amadolce next year. Have a great time@@

[RachelG]

Flight back from Budapest to TUL via LHR and DFW was uneventful. LHR seemed almost deserted, which is weird. No lines at all.

 

I really enjoyed our cruise. It is NOT an ocean cruise, totally different animal, but it is a great way to see a lot of interesting places that are not accessable on an ocean cruise. And if you tried to do the same trip by car or train, you would have to spend a lot of transit time which on the river boat is done while you sleep at night.

 

Most of the tours offered were of high quality. We had one great guide, several pretty good ones, and 2 that were totally annoying. Probably about the same mix as we have seen on ocean cruise tours.

 

Room on the boat is small--as expected, but you really don't spend much time there. Bathroom was tiny but very well laid out, and I really liked it, esp the shower. Actually would like one of those at home.

 

Food quality was much better than expected--no complaints at all there. However, the dining room is a pretty chaotic place. At breakfast and lunch, the buffet is very crowded. At all meals, you have to be there right as the dining room opens if you want to be sure to get a table of your choice, whether for 2 or 4 or more people. That is a bit stressful. But the dining room is made to hold exactly the number of people on the boat, so if the boat is full, there are no extra seats at all. I think this would be really stressful for a solo traveler as you would have to eat with someone every meal unless you did the light breakfast and lunch upstairs.

 

Every one who works on the ship was helpful, most very friendly. We liked them a lot. CD on our trip was amazing. I don't know where she gets the energy.

 

The aft lounge was usually deserted. It became my little hideaway if the ship was not moving (too much vibration and noise though if underway). Exercise room was small and basic, but my husband used it. We enjoyed the walking track up on top more. Bicycles were sturdy hybrids, and I would have liked to have had more opportunities to use them.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were the easiest ever--reflecting the smaller number of passengers.

 

We really enjoyed meeting the other passengers. Briody, it was a pleasure to meet you, your lovely mom-in-law, husband and brother-in-law. I was surprised that the passenger mix was actually a bit younger than what I had expected. No kids or teens, but a few couples in their late 30's-early 40's, lots in their 50's and 60's. Average age overall was probably about 60-65.

 

Would I do a river cruise again? Yes, given the right itinerary. I am looking at the Mekong River one, but there are so many places I want to go that it is hard to decide where next!

 

Thanks for putting up with all my rambling, and I hope that this has been of help to someone.

[cinders87]

Hi aussietraveller58 we leave tommorrow! I will try and comment n a new thread as we go about wheelchair / walker friendliness. But you can also check out my blog that I will update as we go (http://the-grand-trip.blogspot.com/). Feel free to ask any questions as you think of them :)

 

RachaelG thanks for your very informative posts!